OTHELLO
By William Shakespeare
Othello (Mark Dean) and Iago (Daniel Burrows) | Photo: Rebecca Cockcroft
TUE 2 - SAT 6 JUNE 2026, 7.30PM
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Sheep Street, Northampton NN1 3NL
"O, beware my lord of jealousy.
It is the green-eyed monsterwhich doth mock the meat it feeds on."
CAST
Othello Mark Dean
Iago Daniel Burrows
Desdemona Helena Enright-King
Emilia Bernie Wood
Cassio Shane McCormack
Roderigo Bailey Fitzpatrick
Brabantio, Gratiano Martin Borley-Cox
Duke of Venice, Lodovico Fraser Haines
Bianca Carmen Simoni
Montano Dan Sanders
First Senator Peter Collins
Second Senator Graham Breeze
All other parts members of the company
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director Patricia Coleman
Assistant Director Jo Nutt
Vocal Coach Ian Spiby
Stage Manager Clare Brittain
Continuity Pat Bancroft
Sound Philip Welsh
Lighting Richard Walker
Costumes Pam Mann
Dresser Toni Clarke
Hair Rachael Pickering
Armourer Derek Banyard
Programme Rachel Thomas
Cover photography Rebecca Cockcroft
Poster Carmen Simoni
Box Office Sue Howes
Hospitality Masque Theatre members
Transport Robert Vaughan, Ian Allen, Mark Mortimer, Rob Kendall
Auditorium Mark Mortimer, Rob Kendall
Liaison with Holy Sepulchre Rob Kendall
Safety Officers and Front of House Masque Theatre members
MASQUE THEATRE
Chair Rob Kendall | Secretary Jan Stoppani | Treasurer Craig Macpherson | Productions Coordinator Graham Breeze | Publicity Carmen Simoni | Box Office Manager Elizabeth Allen | Hospitality Manager Maggie Holland | Newsletter Robert Vaughan | Website & IT Martin Borley-Cox | Social Secretary Clare Brittain
Photos by Rebecca Cockcroft
Othello (1978)
All our shows
A superb piece of theatre
Ian Spiby
One of the challenges in staging Shakespeare is that, while the principal roles are usually entrusted to experienced actors, the supporting characters can sometimes feel little more than plot devices.
That is not always the actors' fault; some roles are often presented as little more than stereotypes. In Othello, for example, Roderigo is frequently played as a simple fool, Brabantio as an angry old father, and the senators as little more than walk-on parts with a few lines before disappearing from the action.
What struck me most about Patricia Coleman's production was that she had persuaded every member of the cast to create real, living characters rather than cardboard cut-outs.
Take Bailey Fitzpatrick's Roderigo. He was certainly a fool, easily manipulated by Iago, but he was also an entirely believable one: hopelessly infatuated with Desdemona and genuinely convinced that he still had a chance of winning her. His gullibility sprang from desperate hope rather than mere stupidity.
Martin Borley-Cox's Brabantio was equally convincing. He was undoubtedly an authoritarian father, bound by traditional expectations of how a daughter should behave, but there was far more to him than anger. Alongside his outrage were heartbreak, disappointment and a genuine sense of betrayal. I believed him completely.
Emilia is another character who can easily pass almost unnoticed, yet Bernie Wood gave her real depth and humanity. Constrained by the conventions of her society and expected to obey her husband unquestioningly, she gradually found the courage to challenge both him and the misogyny that surrounded her. Her final scenes were especially moving.
Shane McCormack as Cassio and Bernadette Wood as Emilia | Photos by Rebecca Cockcroft
I was also impressed by the ensemble work. Fraser Haines, Carmen Simoni, Dan Sanders, Peter Collins and Graham Breeze all took on multiple roles with effortless assurance. There was no unnecessary fuss or elaborate disguise; instead, each created distinct, believable individuals while contributing to a company that worked seamlessly together.
The principal performances were outstanding. Mark Dean brought dignity, authority and commanding stage presence to Othello, making him every inch the respected general before his tragic downfall.
Daniel Burrows captured all the complexities of Iago: outwardly charming and plausible, inwardly manipulative and consumed by malice. One line in particular - "I hate the Moor" - was delivered with a chilling intensity that revealed the depths of Iago's hatred.
Helena Enright-King's Desdemona possessed a quiet dignity and emotional honesty that made her fate all the more affecting, while Shane McCormack gave Cassio far greater depth than the conventional handsome young officer. Like every character in this production, he felt like a fully realised human being rather than simply a function of the plot.
Altogether, this was a superb piece of theatre. Othello is one of Shakespeare's most demanding and psychologically complex plays, and Patricia Coleman deserves warm congratulations for a production that illuminated not only its great central characters but also the rich humanity of every role on the stage.
Mark Dean (Othello) with Helena Enright-King (Desdemona) | Photos by Rebecca Cockcroft
This Masque Theatre production is directed by Patricia Coleman. Patricia has also directed The Beggar's Opera (2013), King Lear (2009), The Merchant of Venice (2007), Waiting for Godot (2006), My Mother Said I Never Should (2005), The Lion in Winter (2003).
Publicity image of Mark Dean as Othello and Daniel Burrows as Iago | Photo by Rebecca Cockcroft
Music, stabbings and murders - what's not to like?
Patricia Coleman, director
"O, beware my lord of jealousy.
It is the green-eyed monsterwhich doth mock the meat it feeds on."
Overlooked for promotion in the Venetian army, Iago plots to take revenge against his General, Othello, and manipulates him into believing his wife Desdemona is unfaithful.
Trust shatters and tragedy unfolds as Othello allows jealousy to consume him, murdering Desdemona, then killing himself.
A powerful story of ambition and heartbreak and one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies.
There will be violence, music (including a sing-song for the soldiers), a storm, three stabbings, three murders and a suicide. What’s not to like?
Many ‘new’ Masque Theatre members won’t know me as I lived in France for the last 10 years, but prior to that I performed in around 50 Masque Theatre productions and directed six: The Lion in Winter, My Mother Said I Never Should, The Merchant of Venice (open air), Waiting for Godot, King Lear, and The Beggar’s Opera. I have a commitment to good amateur theatre and like to work with the cast to achieve the very best we can.
